Breakfast Quinoa with fruit

 Presoaking quinoa seems like it's a good idea for digestive reasons, but I dislike having too much fuss in an everyday recipe. I was looking through Thrive Magazine Vol. 37 and saw two things that sparked the following jam. I also like that the fruit gets cooked, easier on the gut when things are no fun in there, and since I should eat the skins, they get cooked a bit too. I tried cooking the grains in 100% coconut milk and while it was good and very porridge-like, I found it to be too much oil. Perhaps half almond, half coconut would be a nice choice sometimes?

Put 1/4 cup white quinoa into a fine strainer, rinse the quinoa for a few moments, then set the strainer into the small cooking pot and let the grains soak while you...

Cut up a small apple/peach/pear, whatever. Drop into a small non-stick frying pan with a nice little pat of butter. After a moment sprinkle a bit of cinnamon/cardamom/clove/nutmeg and a slight drizzle of maple/molasses/honey. Let that stew just a few moments, then set aside to...

Drain the grains, add 1/2 cup almond milk, add a small pinch of salt and put onto the heat. Turn it up real high, stirring and watching it get up to a simmer-ish thing. Pop on the lid, drop the heat to a really low setting, set a timer for 8 minutes and when it goes off, stir the grains to get all the stuff that climbed the sides back into the mix. 

I tend to just eat from the pot because less dishes, but I have been working harder to try to do my esthetic sense a favor and put the grains into a pretty bowl and drop the fruit on top like a civilized person.

Changing my mind

 I have recently become some kind of expert at changing my mind. This is HUGE, by the way. If you didn't know, I consider myself to be an Adult Child of Alcoholism & Family Dysfunction. ACA has been a really big part of my inner life since just before Covid and is largely responsible for helping me achieve whatever level of emotional sobriety I am currently enjoying. I love to tell people who are interested all about it, so feel free to ask.

So, back to changing my mind. Part of my childhood was learning black-and-white thinking, and catastrophizing and being just generally afraid of life, so best coping skills were denial of emotions and sticking to decisions like life-rafts even if they weren't working out so well. Not really the best way to go through life, not if you want to actually enjoy much anyway!

1) I have added a new food group to my life, called hand cream. Part of my treatment is lots of steroids and it has made my skin altogether different so now I slather my hands with ceramide cream every single chance I get. Old way of thinking was to not waste the stuff  and just use "enough" and not get it all over clothes which would necessitate extra laundry which is not good...you get the drift. I have changed my mind about this. I'm going to use lots of the stuff and not really worry if I get a little on my toothbrush or a bit ends up on my sleeve or gathers in a drop of water that rolls down my hand into my drinking water.

2) I don't want to go to sleep right now. Old way of thinking would insist that I keep trying to sleep because everybody needs eight hours (I certainly function BEST that way!) and not sleeping brings on a host of health issues and... you get the drift. I have changed my mind about this. For now (because I can change my mind again about this later), I just don't wanna go to sleep. I'm not trying to actively avoid sleep, but I am not going to chase it around. I am EXCEPTIONALLY privileged to be able to keep my job and have flexible bosses. I also live alone so I don't even need to worry about disturbing a partner with my odd hours. Heck, there's a little girl running around upstairs at all hours by herself (even as I type) to sort-of keep me company.

3) I hate the sunshine. I know we are supposed to practically worship summer and healthy tans and beaches and bright sunny days in the mid-winter... I hate sunshine. This is not actually something I have changed my mind about, but I have changed my mind about keeping it to myself. I detest driving on certain days where it seems the flipping sun is always shining across my shoulder, making it hard to see and heating up the dang car, and glaring off everything. Hot, sticky, sweaty sunshine that you just can't get away from without paying a fortune for air conditioning (see the privilege here too!). I hate people who "love summer" but jump from air conditioned workplaces to air conditioned SUVs to air conditioned restaurants to air conditioned homes. -----I love when the sun is just a soft glow on the horizon, or later when the sky is black and that moon is so bright you can easily see your path. The soft moonlight through trees with stars too numerous to count. Whirling figures sketched across the night sky by lonely travelers with amazing names and stories passed down through the centuries to dance in the velvety darkness above you. THAT's a sky I can love.

4) Food. I have changed my mind about Velveeta. I think the steroids have helped calm down inflammation in my gut, so I have been experimenting a little about food. I am now trying to really listen to what I am craving and see if I can make sense of the underlying reason for a craving. There is a very real danger of salt cravings with steroids and I am totally getting that, but I keep trying to redirect that towards what I think is the root cause --- dehydration. Another interesting childhood dynamic was learning that my bathroom needs were not welcome, so from the beginning I was taught to minimize that stuff by avoiding drinking. That behavior was also modelled by my parents (Dad had migraines his whole adult life --- connection there???) so it wasn't like they were doing anything TO me that they weren't doing to themselves. I have changed my mind about drinking water, but making this decision happen in real life every day after every day has been a stupid, unnecessarily hard climb upwards, let me tell you.  I actually have a list of "one thing" to think about each day just because I'm that kind of nerd. Mondays, the only real standard I have is to try to hydrate as best I can. It has been a decently effective plan because I actually drink more water on average than ever before. And some days I have to really work hard to remember that idea because sometimes it just seems so silly to that dumb voice in my head who is so fear-based that everything is a potential danger, especially CHANGE!

Research: The Gut-Brain Highway

 Published on October 4, 2018

The Gut-Brain Axis and the Microbiome: Mechanisms and Clinical Implications

"Based largely on results from preclinical studies, the concept of a brain gut microbiome axis has been established, mediating bidirectional communication between the gut, its microbiome, and the nervous system."

Wow.  I have to admit that I have been pretty skeptical about the idea that "the gut" plays such a major role in day-to-day life, but this peer reviewed article in a respected medical journal starts by stating that the highway between the brain and the gut has been established.  That is big!

The article goes on to explain more technical aspects of how the body does that.  They state that the first 3 years of life are critical for the programming of that communication channel.  Throughout the rest of our lives, we also can effect it through "diet, medication, and stress".  There is also a statistical correlation or some sort of relationship between that sort of alteration and "food intake, obesity and irritable bowel syndrome".  The authors do not have an explanation as to how that is accomplished, just that there is a correlation. 

Being doctors, the conclusion they got from all this is that there is a potential for DRUGS to fix everything.  Call in the pharmaceutical companies!

Research: Exclusion Diets

  Published May 19, 2021

Effect of Exclusion Diets on Symptom Severity and the Gut Microbiota in Patients with Irritable Bowel Syndrome

In this study, 346 IBS and 170 healthy folks completed a diet checklist.  171 IBS and 98 healthy folks gave stool samples that were analyzed.  Well, I assume they gave the samples.  Perhaps they were taken?

"IBS participants on an exclusion or restrictive diet reported more severe IBS symptoms".  This doesn't explain if the symptoms cause folks to eat a more restrictive diet or if the restrictive diet was causing more severe symptoms.  The only thing the authors were able to conclude was that what people eat has an impact on fecal microbiota.

This seems to be an awfully obvious conclusion to me.  Although I suppose it is important to recognize that IN FACT what we eat does truly impact our gut flora.  In case there was any doubt that the cheeseburger and beer are not doing anybody's body any good, including the helpful little guys living in our digestive systems.

A little history of my digestive system

  My earliest memories were of stomach aches.  I regularly got spanked for throwing away my meat even at a very young age. If I didn't drink my glass of milk, it stayed there waiting for me, until I drank it, or in many cases, ate the chunky mess it had become.  I can remember trying to choke down "onion pie" late in the night, trying to make the horrible stuff disappear so I would finally be allowed to go to bed. The rare occasions when we were allowed to go with the Grown Ups to a restaurant, I would get a terrible stomach ache and not eat much anyway.  My father was rather proud of the fact that he rarely drank water (or anything else for that matter).  I was in my 40's before I realized that most people pooped every day, usually a little while after eating.

I was diagnosed with IBS-C in my mid-late 30's.  My slow digestive system coupled with the stress of being a single mother was too much.  But there wasn't much I could do to help myself. No diet seemed to make a lasting difference.  I also had un-diagnosed gall bladder problem, that was finally corrected when they took my gall bladder out around the time I was 40.  No more gall stones, but the digestion issues continued.

I also have Graves Disease and had my thyroid radiated (twice) in my mid 30's.  I have taken thyroid replacement hormones daily since then and have my levels checked every six months or so.  I am developing some sort of arthritis in my hands, feet, hips, neck, back, knees, etc...  I have developed Vitiligo and Lichen Sclerosis, indicating that my immune system is out to get me.

I have tried an elimination diet and determined that I don't have any problem with gluten or nightshades.  I am becoming more sensitive to dairy and have switched to a largely vegan diet.  All of this brings us to the present.  I am finally coming to terms with my digestive system and have figured a few things out.  I hope explaining all of my stuff will help someone else who might be struggling with a similar story.

A little over a year ago I started seeing a different doctor and two important things came out of that.  Well, make that three; A Really Truly Good Doctor is SO hard to find these days, but is worth their weight in gold.  Mine didn't perform any miracles, but having a knowledgeable professional who really listens to us is so important.  I feel he hears me, asks good questions and so I'm more likely to trust his suggestions because they are based on both his expertise AND what I am going through!

Second, he made an offhand comment that made me realize that I don't have a bunch of autoimmune disorders, I have one autoimmune system that is disordered and attacking my body in a variety of ways.

Third, he gave me some simple solutions to help with my digestion and helped me see that a few of my problems were actually me misinterpreting things that happen.  "Fruit helps people poop." I had no idea.  I've cut refined sugar almost completely out of my diet and had rather assumed that sugar-laden fruit was no good for me either.  One day I had eaten a lot of watermelon about a year ago and had my digestive system clear completely out in less than 12 hours.  At least it had all gone the right direction (no vomiting).  But I had seen this as a cautionary tale that meant I should Avoid Fructose.  He suggested it was just too much fructose at once.  Amazing what good communication and some expertise can do!

The good news is that I have been tweaking my diet and haven't had a real problem in several weeks. I haven't wished I never existed because of my stomach in quite a while!  I can clearly tell when I have eaten refined sugar since it makes my stomach clench up and twist, but the rest of the time it is smooth sailing.  My gut has been mostly quiet and what little bloating I've had was tolerable.  I have been drinking nearly the amount of water that is recommended every day, too.

The bad news is that my poops are still rocks, but they appear at more regular intervals now and don't cause the cramping and pain I used to endure every few days.  I am still learning how much fruit I can handle and how much food overall I can eat on a given day and still maintain my appropriate weight.  It's a work in progress, and I'll keep you updated.